Teja who scored a hit with his previous flick Nene Raju Nene Mantri has come up with Sita, a film based on a lead character that has grey shades. It is yet another mediocre film from the director who delivered blockbusters in his initial days as director.

What is it about?

Sita (Kajal) is an ambitious young woman who goes to any extent to get her job done. She makes a deal with MLA Basava Raju that she would have live in relationship with him for one month if he helps her achieve her goal. But Sita doesn't stick to her word and Basava Raju is after her. Now Ram (Srinivas) turns savior for Sita, who has to marry him to get access to her wealth worth thousands of crores.

Performances:

Bellamkonda Srinivas comes out of his comfort zone for playing a naive character in Sita. His character is similar to that of Kamal Haasan's from Swathi Mutyam. Putting such an incredible burden upon an actor with limitations is a huge risk from the casting point of view. Bellamkonda seen as Swathi Mutyam who has immense love for Sita. And coming to Kajal's performance, the experienced actress got an author backed role and she does an okay job. She shines in parts, but couldn't make much impact as the modern Sita. Sonu Sood is the biggest highlight in a villainous character that is witty all the time. Tanikella Bharani as his assistant provides enough humor to keep the spirits alive.

Technicalities:

Teja has written the characterizations, but couldn't fit them into a coherent script. His direction is alright in the initial portions, but goes off track once the story moves to Bhutan. The eccentric characters become unbearable after a point and Teja didn't know where to put an end to it.

Music by Anup Rubens is below average. A couple of songs are okay to watch, but there is not one song that is worthy of listening to again. Even the background score is a disappointment. Cinematography is strictly okay. Dialogues written for Sonu Sood are good. There is a lot of pointless stuff that made it to the final cut. Editor could have been strict with removing those unwanted portions. Production values are just average.

Thumbs Up:

Sonu Sood

Initial episodes

Thumbs Down:

Torturous second half

Outlandish climax

Music

Direction

Analysis:

Teja's previous film had an unconventional protagonist and Sita followed the suit. Sita neither have political backdrop nor does it deal with contemporary issues to make it an engaging film. It is Ramayanam retold with Sita representing modern women. The film relies heavily upon Sita's characterization. The plot revolves around her all the time. Teja also made sure to pen down interesting characterizations for Rama and Ravana too.

While Sonu Sood is hilarious as the villain with a sense of humor, Bellamkonda Srinivas is a total miscast as the naive and innocent hero. The problem with Sita is it doesn't go beyond these characterizations. The villain is after Sita to fulfill his lust and she has to save herself from him with the help of the hero. The story is nicely set up until Sita is cornered by the villain and goes to Bhutan in search of the hero.

Things start to seem odd when the hero's character starts overreacting in the name of 'characterization'. It's surprising that a senior filmmaker like Teja couldn't find the scenes involving hero and heroine out of place. He must have been convinced with the way Ram's character reacts in certain situations. But he couldn't convince the viewers with the bizarre stuff that happens on the screen. First half is passable nevertheless because of interesting initial portions and Sonu Sood's comedy.

There is not enough content to make the second half click. It gets tedious as it moves forward. The ending is predictable from the beginning and Teja fails to make it an engaging watch until it reaches there. Sonu Sood makes it watchable in parts, but poor writing, direction and music make it a painstakingly boring watch.